The Gift
by Lunara the Ara
Summary: Fluttershy never wanted to give anything to the princesses of Equestria for the yearly gift-giving ceremony because of a childhood incident. However, when the shy pegasus finds a bird with a broken wing, she not only finds a creature in need, but she also finds the best gift of all...
1. Chapter 1

**This is my Christmas fic. I know it's extremely early, but it'll be a few chapters long that will be posted in a very slow process until Christmas Eve. This was inspired by Alison Debison's The Gift. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

The streets of Ponyville were lively.

Even if the snow was deep on the ground, the ponies made their usual purchases on food for their young or even themselves, and many were decorating their houses for the upcoming holiday season.

To Fluttershy, this was her least favorite time of year.

The reason behind this dispute was because of the yearly gift offering. Everypony in Equestria had to give each princess of Equestria a gift; be it pearls, pets, or a rock. Fluttershy had never given anything since her foalhood, when she was mocked and teased for giving a small butterfly to Celestia as a gift. Everypony never seemed to care about her generosity; even if it wasn't her element. Fluttershy was the Element of Kindness, and her best friend, Rarity was the Element of Generosity. Rarity gave each princess a beautiful winter gown encrusted with beautiful gems that glittered when light shone on them last year. Everypony was in awe by the spectacular outfits that the white unicorn created for Luna and Celestia last year; and so now the talk of the town was what the princesses outfits would look like this year. But there was the fact that Rarity's gifts were different almost every year, but it seemed that the ponies of Ponyville didn't exactly care.

Pinkie Pie had always given the royal princesses a sweet of some sort. Twilight it always was a book, Spike would give a gem or two (Which he hated giving away), Applejack... well, it was something about apples of course. Rainbow Dash just gave them a piece of paper asking if she could have a meeting with the famous flying stunt group; the Wonderbolts, and Fluttershy... well, you know the story.

Fluttershy sighed, walking along the outskirts of town, watching the town with a small frown. Her pet bunny, Angel, was standing beside her; looking up at his pony friend in confusion.

"Oh, Angel... I don't know what I'm gonna do this year..." The pale yellow pegasus shook her head, her cotton-candy-colored mane drifting along with the movement. She looked up at the sky. The sun was about in the middle of the sky; indicating it was about noon. "The yearly gift-offering is in a few days, and I can't give anything to the princesses without being mocked for it!" Fluttershy sat down with a huff, eyes showing how upset she was. Angel tilted his head, then patted her on the back as a gesture of comfort. Fluttershy looked over to her animal friend. "Thank you, Angel..."

The snow-white bunny nodded, with a proud grin on his face.

Fluttershy stood back up; smiling at her pet bunny. "Alright, Angel, we'll get going and get you a nice carrot. How does that sound?"

Angel gave a happy jump and leaped onto Fluttershy's back.

"Now, Angel, I have to get my bag of bits first." The yellow pony trotted into her cottage, and grabbed her small bag with bits and had Angel hold it for her. With that, she tied a red and pink striped scarf she had gotten from Rarity a while back around her neck, and trotted outside; feeling a bit more optimistic.

…

"You want a carrot?" The shop-mare asked.

"Yes, please. My little Angel is very hungry and..." She took out two bits; the price for one carrot. "This is enough, right?"

"...Yes, dearie." The red-maned pink unicorn replied, picking up a large carrot and the bits. "Here you go. Have a good holiday!" Fluttershy nodded softly, picking up the carrot with her teeth and trotting off.

When she arrived in her cottage, the pink-maned pegasus let Angel hop down from her back. She grabbed a cloth and cleaned the carrot from any grime it may have had on it. When she was done cleaning the vegetable, it was a clean, bright orange. She got out a knife, cut it into small pieces, and put them in a bowel; handing it to a hungry Angel.

The white rabbit gave the food a quick glare and a sniff before he grinned and chowed down.

Fluttershy smiled. She liked to see her animal friends happy. It made her happy. "Alright, Angel, I'm going out to see my friends. Make sure the place is clean when I get back, alright?"

Angel looked up from his food; his face covered in carrot juice and little kibbles of the vegetable, and nodded.

"Thank you." With that, Fluttershy made her way down the small walkway from her house to Ponyville.

However, on her way, she saw a small shape on the roadside; beside a tree. Growing concerned, she trotted over to the shape, and realized it was a small bird. It's dull red feathers were dusty with small snowflakes and dirt. It's right wing was bent at an awkward angle. It's eyes were wide in pain and fear. Plus it was trembling from the cold.

"Oh... oh my..." Fluttershy kneeled beside the bird, giving the wing a close examination. "It's broken... Oh, you poor thing!" She picked the creature up and spread her wings, flying softly in the air. She held the bird and looked around to see if any other birds were looking for its friend, worrying about it...

Silence; and nothing could be seen.

Fluttershy let her sad cyan eyes stare at the bird for a few moments before she looks back to her house. "Don't worry, you poor bird..." She smiled at the bird; who seemed to have calmed down a bit. "I'll make you better. It may take a few days... but you'll be flying on that wing in no time! No time at all!"

**Well, that's all I have! The next chapter will be posted soon enough! (I mean it this time)**

**If anyone would want to write a collab with me, you can just PM me! I love to write things with other people, and if you enjoy that as well, you've found the right person!**

**XD Anyway, I hope you liked this first chapter, and I would highly appreciate it if you reviewed! :D PLEASE?**


	2. Chapter 2

**I have now decided that this will now only be a two shot. I've been extremely busy as of late, and I'm sorry if you wished for more to come out of this story.**

**I will make this as long as I can, but don't expect the best thing in the world.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy!**

It was almost here.

The Hearth's Warming Gift-Giving Ceremony.

The bird that Fluttershy had found was healing nicely. The broken wing was now healed enough to take off the bandage. The feathers were now glossy and clean, clear of any foliage.

She had used the last of her personal supply of bits to buy a cage for the small bird, making sure it wouldn't fly away without making sure it was one-hundred-percent healed. Since she had no money left to spare, the yellow pegasus usually fed it corn she found on the ground in the marketplace when she was outside. Plus, the bird seemed to build a great liking for her.

"Alright, little bird... now I have to..." She looked down at her hooves sadly. She always felt a horrible guilt whenever she couldn't give the princesses a gift. With a sad sigh, she continued to make her way to her cottage. "I'll at least go. Want to go with me, birdie?"

The bird chirped a short melody as a response.

Fluttershy smiled. "Great!"

…

The Canterlot castle was literally filled to the brim with ponies of every shape and species.

Princess Celestia smiled at her younger sister, Princess Luna. "You never experienced this, have you, my sister?"

Luna shook her head. "We think it's extremely generous of them to leave gifts for thou and us." She smiled back at her older sister. "We have one question, though, Tia."

"And what would that be?"

"When did the ponies start this tradition?"

Celestia's smile grew ever so slightly. " About one-hundred years ago, Luna. They believe that leaving gifts for me... well, now the both of us..." She draped a wing over the dark alicorn. "...Was a way to show their respect and love."

"That... is very kind of them." Luna stood up strait and looked down at the countless ponies; each holding a gift. She stepped to the edge of the balcony and rose her voice. "WE THANK ALL OF THOU FOR THOU GENEROSITY!" The royal Canterlot voice made some, if not most of the ponies freeze up in fear. But when they saw that it was just the Night Princess saying her thanks, they calmed down and continued to leave gifts, big and small under the tall, glowing tree that the royal guards had put up for the occasion.

Celestia couldn't help but chuckle. "You're very enthusiastic tonight, dear sister."

"But of course!" Luna replied, standing by her sister once more. "We've never been given gifts from more than just royalty, older sister."

Celestia too grinned. "That's true. At midnight, we are able to open the gifts. So you'll have to wait another hour."

Luna was at this point not the regal, graceful princess of Equestria, but a young filly jumping in excitement and anticipation. "We..." She stopped jumping. "Um... I can't wait!"

Celestia nodded, a glint of amusement in her violet eyes.

"Princess Celestia!"

The voice made the Princess of the Sun look up, and she saw her faithful unicorn student, Twilight Sparkle.

"Oh, Twilight! It's such a joy to see you!" Celestia nuzzled her student in greeting. "Welcome to the Annual Gift-Giving Ceremony!"

The purple unicorn grinned sheepishly. "Why wouldn't I be here, your highness? You're my mentor! I wanted to give you and Luna my gifts personally!" Her horn glowed a bright hot pink, and two small boxes floated at her side.

Celestia smiled softly. "Twilight, I thank you." She looked over to Luna, who was looking down at the tree below. "Luna! Twilight Sparkle has brought us her gifts personally!"

Luna turned and walked over to the two with as much grace as she could; but Twilight could see the sheer excitement in her eyes. Her horn glowing a pale blue, she gently took the present labeled _'for Princess Luna: Happy holidays!'_ and quickly ripped open the paper. She shook the box in anticipation.

"Oh!" Twilight had a panicked expression. "Don't do that! The present is fragile!"

Luna immediately stopped. "We are very sorry, Twilight Sparkle!"

Twilight's smile returned. "Go on! Open the box!"

Luna, barely able to hold her excitement, opened the box, and stared inside. She gawked inside the box with a shocked expression. "Twilight Sparkle..." The lifted the object out of the box. It was a shiny silver necklace. There were many charms, each sparkling a different color. The charms held a pattern of a star, then a crescent moon; the pattern going around the whole necklace. "We... I don't know what to say...!" She gently draped it around her neck. She could feel a few tears blurring her vision.

"It was nothing really, princess. Spike helped me make it. He carved the gems, and I used my metal carving spell to turn a piece of silver into a necklace."

"I... thank you... I can't put into words how much we... I love this..." Luna trotted to Twilight and gave her a hug. "It's beautiful..."

"You're welcome, Luna." The purple unicorn replied with a strained voice. Luna's grip on her was rather... tight. "Uhm... Mind letting me go?"

With a sheepish grin, the Princess of the Night let go and continued to stare at her necklace, which was now covering part of her black chest plate.

Twilight looked over to Celestia, who was waiting patiently for her turn to open Twilight's gift. "Alright, Celestia! Time to open yours!"

With a smile, Princess Celestia slowly opened her gift. Inside was a golden necklace with a large amber gem shaped like the sun in the middle. "Oh..." Celestia stared at it in awe. "It's beautiful, Twilight. Thank you very much." Celestia too draped her necklace around her neck.

"No problem!" Twilight looked over to the clock and gasped. "Oh my! I forgot! I wasn't supposed to take this long! I told Spike I'd be home fifteen minutes ago!" She began to trot down the stairs. "Sorry, Celestia, Luna... I have to go!"

"It's alright!" Luna called. "Run along, now!"

"Yes. I hope to hear from you soon, Twilight!" Celestia chuckled as Twilight dashed down the stairs and out the door, running into many ponies along the way.

…

Fluttershy hid behind one of the pillars near the entrance of the castle. The cage that he bird was in was on her back. She watched as the last of the rush of ponies were leaving their gifts. Under the tree, there was a humongous pile of gifts.

Suddenly, the clock boomed. It was midnight.

With a yelp, Fluttershy dashed toward the door, using her wings to hold the cage.

"Fluttershy, where are you going?"

The voice of Princess Celestia made her yelp again. Looking over to her ruler, she saw that both she and her little sister, Luna were staring at her in curiosity.

"Um... um... w-well I..."

Princess Celestia slowly walked over to the small yellow pegasus. "What's that?"

Fluttershy flattened her ears and lowered her head. "It's... it's a bird I brought along with me..." She felt her voice quivering. "I wanted him to see what the Gift-Giving Ceremony was like..."

"Fluttershy." Celestia knelt beside the element of kindness. "Is this bird your gift?"

"...No..." Fluttershy was extremely terrified at the moment. "I..." She looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry..."

"Why would you be sorry?" Celestia asked, growing concerned.

"I've never been able to give you gifts... I haven't given you anything... since I gave you that butterfly as a filly..."

"May I ask why you haven't given me or Luna any gifts?"

"...ponies made fun of me when I gave you the butterfly. I didn't want to be mocked anymore, so I didn't give you or Luna any gifts at all ever since..."

Celestia nodded in understanding. "I understand, Fluttershy." The white alicorn looked into the cage, and the tawny bird cocked its head in curiosity. "Would you open the cage so I can see this bird?"

With a shaky nod, Fluttershy gently put the cage on the ground, then slowly opened it. The bird hopped out and looked around.

Then, it spread its wings and flew!

Fluttershy was surprised. "Oh...! You're flying!" All her negative emotions were washed away. "You're flying!"

Celestia grinned as the bird flew around the room and landed on a low branch on the glowing evergreen tree. "Fluttershy... I think you've discovered the best gift of all." She walked over to the bird, and lifted her front left hoof. The bird hopped onto it a few moments later. "For you see, the gift you've given this bird is the gift of love and care." She looked over to the pink-maned pegasus. "And that is better than any other gift."

Fluttershy was shocked. "R...really?"

Celestia nodded in reply. "Exactly." She lifted her hoof a tad higher, and the bird took off once again. This time, however, it flew out the door.

Fluttershy, who had a loving connection with the bird, trotted outside and followed it. The bird was on a bare branch on a tree outside the castle. "I'm so proud of you...!" she whispered, smiling up at the bird she had spent at least a month caring for.

"Fluttershy."

Fluttershy looked over, and saw Celestia, with Luna at her side.

"I hope you're proud of what you've done." Celestia winked.

With a smile, Fluttershy looked back up at the bird, who had begun to chirp and sing. The melody was beautiful...

"I never knew you were such a great singer..." Fluttershy cooed in awe. This was by far, the most beautiful melody she had ever heard. The notes were sweet, and they were long. "I hope you live to be a great and strong little bird... Melody."

…

_Dear Princess Celestia,_

_I've learned that you should leave the past behind you. I'm a full-grown mare, and the butterfly incident was many years ago. Even though I am still upset over it, I will be sure to leave you and Luna a gift every year from now on, regardless of what other ponies think._

_I've also learned that even the smallest things; no matter how insignificant they may seem, can be the most powerful and life-changing things anyone could ever face. I never imagined that me helping a small bird would be the best gift of all... I felt like a mother letting her child out into the world for the first time. And it was a great experience._

_I wish you happy Hearth's Warming, and a great time opening those gifts with your sister._

_Love, _

_Fluttershy_

Celestia put down the letter and sighed happily. She closed her eyes, loving the new silk blanket and striped socks she had gotten from one of the hundreds of ponies.

"I wish you a happy Hearth's Warming as well."

**The end!**

**Yeah, I really liked how this turned out! It was a lot better than I expected! I would like your opinions as well, so please drop a review!**

**I wish you all a merry Christmas, a happy new year, and a happy Hearth's Warming!**

***LunaratheAra**

**EDIT: It seemed since I posted it on Christmas eve, nopony would bother to really look or review. So I have reposted it. Please review! I wish to know your opinions!  
**


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